Laneway Festival Detroit Unveiled

May 13, 2013

SIGUR ROS and THE NATIONAL HEADLINESEPTEMBER 14at MEADOW BROOK MUSIC FESTIVAL

Click on the video above to see the animated Derrick & Roscoe line-up.

St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival organizers are thrilled to announce the lineup for the inaugural Laneway Festival Detroit – the North American debut of the boutique indie music festival – with a stellar international and local roster of artists Sept. 14 at Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester Hills, Mich.

Tickets for $79.50 in advance, including parking fees, go on sale at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 18 at Palacenet.com, The Palace Ticket Store and all Ticketmaster locations, including The Locker Room Store at Great Lakes Crossing. Tickets may be also charged by phone to American Express, Discover, Visa and MasterCard by calling 800.745.3000. A limited amount of “Early Bird” four-packs are available for $64.50 per ticket. Tickets can be purchased – free of convenience charge – at The Palace of Auburn HillsTicket Store.

Sigur Ros and The National headline Laneway Festival Detroit with a line-up that spans the globe from Australia to Detroit. The nearly two dozen acts cover the gamut of indie rock, pop, rock, punk, experimental, dance, hip hop and R&B with The Dismemberment Plan, Solange, Icona Pop, My Brightest Diamond, Run the Jewels, Chvrches and Deerhunter to name a few set to appear at the festival.

Produced with Palace Sports & Entertainment and the Paradigm Agency, Laneway Festival Detroit will be more than a music festival – it will be a full-on assault on the senses, with a singular lineup, celebrating Detroit's renown musical visionaries.

“We were drawn to Laneway’s pedigree as a ground-breaking festival for indie music and we wanted to bring that here to Detroit, a place with its own incredible pedigree for musical innovation,” said Lucinda Treat, Palace Sports & Entertainment executive vice president for Business Operations and Strategy. “This lineup embodies our ambitions and as we get closer to September, we’re certain we will deliver what Laneway fans have come to expect and more.”

The festival’s footprint envelopes Meadow Brook’s rolling green fields on the campus of Oakland University. Two main stages and a third stage will be built on grounds; the Meadow Brook amphitheater stage will serve as the festival’s fourth stage. Ample space will also be dedicated to showcasing local markets, culinary heroes and locally brewed specialties.

The Laneway Festival, founded by Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio in partnership with Chugg Entertainment in Melbourne, Australia in 2004, now spans eight cities and four countries (Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the U.S.). Known for delivering the newest and most exciting indie music acts on the global festival circuit, the Laneway Festival is programmed by music lovers for music lovers.

After spending some time in Detroit a year ago, Rogers said he knew the city was Laneway’s next stop and first American outpost. “Detroit is having its rebirth and as Laneway continues to evolve, we can identify with a city that is continuing to evolve as well,” Rogers said. “It seemed like a great fit and this line-up seals it.”

Rising English electronic duo ALUNAGEORGE (a.k.a. Aluna Francis and George Reid) got a pretty good start to the year when they placed #2 on the prestigious BBC Sound of 2013 poll. The band, which has been described in turn as ‘lustrous’ (Pitchfork) and ‘thrillingly futuristic’ (The Guardian) burst onto the scene with the killer track 'Your Drums, Your Love' and made their first entry into the UK Top 10 via their collaboration with Disclosure, 'White Noise'. 'Attracting Flies', the lead single from their forthcoming debut promises great things.

CHARLIE XCX is not afraid of a solid pop tune and we’re grateful for it. Breaking out with the freakishly catchy track ‘Nuclear Seasons’, the UK artist (who is barely out of her teens) also co-wrote and featured on one of the biggest hits of the year, Icona Pop’s ‘I Love It’. Indeed, her critic-approved debut True Romance is brimming with smart, savvy dance floor fillers that promise a career in the spotlight. But it’s her live show - that combines the fanciful exuberance of Patrick Wolf and the confrontational theatricality of Nicki Minaj - that keeps fans frothing.

CHET FAKER makes smooth, sexy tunes that have been ruling the internet for the past year or so. Breaking out via an inspired cover of Blackstreet’s classic ‘No Diggity’, the Australian native Nick Murphy has been making significant inroads into the consciousness of international audiences thanks to some stand-out, sold out live shows, his Downtown-released debut EP Thinking in Textures and some inspired collaborations.

Hotly-tipped Scottish three-piece CHVRCHES are set to be pretty much inescapable this summer. Their unique mix of classic electronica, hip hop, rock and post-punk form the backdrop for lead singer Lauren Mayberry’s distinctive vocals. Rave reviews are pouring in from all quarters: the band ranked #5 on the prestigious BBC’s Sound of 2013 and received the inaugural Grulke Prize for Developing Non-US Act at SXSW. Endlessly charismatic and searingly smart, the band’s debut full-length is due out on Glassnote this Fall.

With the release of their fifth studio album,Atlanta’s DEERHUNTER have cemented their place as one of America’s great rock ’n’ roll bands. The album has already racked up massive acclaim, with an 8/10 from the NME, a “Best New Music“on Pitchfork and a five-starreview in the UK Guardian. And rightly so: the manic and disparate energy somehow already sounds classic. Live, Deerhunter is an unstoppable force: lead singer Bradford Cox, equal parts charismatic and wildly unpredictable, and his band are no less than mesmerizing.

Properly revered post-punk hardcore outfit THE DISMEMBERMENT PLAN are widely acknowledged as thefathers of the late-1990s/early-2000smovement that inspired the likes of The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem. Since reuniting in 2011 after an eight-year hiatus, the band has debuted numerous new songs and confirmed that they were working on a new album which is due for release this September. Yes! Having amassed a loyal fan base over the course of their 20 year history, the band is making Laneway one of their rare and only shows for 2013. It’s a set that hardcore fans and the newly anointed should not miss. Recommended: Stereogum’s crash course in “The Dismemberment Plan’s Ten Best Songs”.

The BBC called FLUME’s emergence as a “somewhat welcome breath of creative fresh air,” noting that the rising Aussie electronic producer “favors aural substance over fake gold-plated sheen.” Already a serious star in his birthplace Australia, where his assured debut album peaked at #1 on the album chart, Flume is rising internationally thanks to rave reviews, buzzed about sets at this year’s SXSW and sold-out forays into North America and UK/Europe.

Scottish rock band FRIGHTENED RABBIT are known for their ferocious live shows, exposing a raw vulnerability not many of their contemporaries have, which makes their tour with fellow Laneway artist, The National, one that makes our collective music hearts nearly explode. Their fourth long player Pedestrian Verse was released earlier this year to acclaim: Time called it ‘a richer variety of sounds than the band has ever presented before’, and we fell hard for their single Background Skulls. Luckily for us, the band is not making us wait too long for new music; they just announced a new EP, Late March, Death March out June 4th.

When multi-national, New York-dwelling four-piece HAERTS set forth their debut single 'Wings' via hip indie Neon Gold, Gorilla Vs. Bear called it “one of the most unstoppable songs of the last year.” Buzz is building on the band, who vibe heavily on 80’s electro-pop with uber-dramatic and very camp appreciation for all things Dolly Parton” (NME). HAERTSwere the standout at the Laneway SXSW party this year and we’re super pumped for their Detroit outing.

Swedish DJ duo ICONA POP’s ubiquitous hit of 2012 'I Love It', (ft. Laneway co-star Charli XCX) marked them as one of the most exciting new pop exports of the past 12 months. They’ve been responsible for lots of hands in the air and arms around each other as their Girls-power anthems have regaled festival crowds and the radio stations the world over. You can get an idea of their high energy performance when they visited Jimmy Fallon this month. Their Iconic EP is out now; their debut LP is slated for this summer.

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND is the experimental-pop moniker for Detroiter Shara Worden. Her last album All Things Will Unwind, drew inspiration from the Motor City itself, making her Laneway performance a treat for her hometown crowd. Worden’s classical training has seen her collaborate with the likes of The National and Sufjan Stevens, as well as produce three accomplished albums that are startling in their depth. Worden is a passionate advocate for her adopted town and recently collaborated with locally famed Detroit PartyMarching Band for Art X’s opening night, a festival celebrating Detroit’s creative arts scene.

A #3 debut on the Billboard Chart; sold out stadium shows and festival headline slots: it was extremely edifying for longtime fans of THE NATIONAL to see them get the breakout success they deserved following the release of their last record, High Violet. Having captured the hearts of countless music-lovers over the course of their 14 year career via a series of incredible records (including the now-classic Boxer and Alligator) and compelling live show, anticipation for their sixth studio album Trouble Will Find Me (out May 21 on 4AD) could not be higher. The National make indie rock and it’s perfect. We are dying to see Mistaken For Strangers, the new documentary on the band which debuted at Tribeca Film Festival last year (more on that here).

We recommend you go out and get your hands on Muchacho, the fifth album from PHOSPHORESCENT (known to his family as Matthew Houck). It’s got the hallmarks of a modern masterpiece - layers of melancholic beauty, but restraint in all the right places; stories of heartbreak delivered in an imperfect but authentic voice. Upon its release in March, the album was stamped “Best New Music” by Pitchfork and critically lauded across the board. He recently made his television debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with a heart-stopping version of standout album track 'Songs for Zula'.

The Laneway Festival has been obsessedthe powerhouse rap duo of EL-P and Killer Mike for quite some time. Together they are RUN THE JEWELS. Both artists put out what some have called ‘the best hip hop albums to come out in a long time’, and the duo’s collaborative history has been fruitful, with El-P producing Killer Mike’s 2012 R.A.P Music and Killer Mike guesting up on El-P’s Cancer for Cure. RTD are set to release their self-titled LP through Fools Gold this June; download their first track “Get It”for free now.

Everyone’s hyped on SAVAGES, the London all-girl post-punk four-piece whose awaited long-player Silence Yourself (Matador Records) has lived up to the expectation set by their feverish early shows. It’s essential listening: pulsing bass lines, howling vocals and penetrating lyrics, all performed with a frenetic energy and great sense of urgency. Their SXSW appearance made serious waves, with admiration coming from the likes of NPR, The Atlantic and the L.A Times. Their headline-creating live show is going to be one of the highlights of Laneway Detroit and we cannot wait.

"We’ve written and performed more original music for The Simpsons than any other outside band in the show's history." - SIGUR ROS. If there was ever a mark of success, then surely this is it. The iconic Icelandic post-rock band will bring their moody, ambient sounds to Detroit, presumably toting cuts from their seventh studio album Kveikur (out 13 June 2013 via XL). Get a taste of the new album with an epic performance of the title song on Jimmy Fallon. Their catalogue is vast in its beauty and vast in its scope and it’s a huge honor to have Jónsi & Co. on board for the first ever Detroit Laneway.

SOLANGE’s heartbreaker ‘Losing You’ is our current favorite house-party jam FYI. Indeed, all of the tracks on her recent True EP (produced by Blood Orange’s Devonte Hynes) are suited to dancing around to in the late hours. A fusion of hip-hop beats, classy R&B vocals and a tinge of 80’s pop, Solange’s output has come a long way since the debut album she released at just 16. Her live show is one of a kind: expect the formation dancing, which is frankly vastly underused in indie music performances. We can’t wait for her hugely-anticipated full-length album.

WARPAINT played the Laneway Festival in Australia in 2010 and have remained a favorite band since. The LA-based group’s breakout EP Exquisite Corpse and debut, Rough Trade-released album The Fool were notable for their spacious, reverb excursions overlaid with beguiling vocals. It’s their incredible force as a live band, however, that makes Warpaint stand apart from the rest. It’s a totally immersive and hypnotic experience, thanks in no small part to the interplay between the rhythm section of Stella Mozgawa (drums) and Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass). The girls are working on their much-anticipated sophomore album now with producer/legend Flood (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave).

If ever there was an evocative title for an artist, it’s WASHED OUT. Ernest Greene’s dreamy, melancholic pop denoted the arrival of a new scene when his first couple of EPs surfaced a few years back. The poster boy for ‘chillwave’ proved he’s not just a flash in the pan with his highly-anticipated/lauded first full-length (and Sub-Pop debut), Within and Without. We’re looking forward to a new album, out this year. Live, it’s less ‘chill’ and more ‘party’ as Greene and his full live band nimbly maneuver his multi-layered pop out of the bedroom and onto the stage.

YOUTH LAGOON isTrevor Powers, from Boise, Idaho. He released his sophomore album Wondrous Bughouse this March on Fat Possum Records to great applause, with Consequence of Sound stating that it is ‘filled with some of the most honest, heartbreaking, and ‘nod-able’ pop songs to be heard last year.” We agree. The entire album belies Powers’ 23 years: lush and complex, it demands repeated listens in good headphones. For evidence, check out first cut off the album “Dropla” . Youth Lagoon is charming onstage, and the show is a real treat that realizes the achievements of his recordings.